Watch smart bullets change direction in mid-air

We’ve seen high-tech guns cropping up in the private sector, and now the military has taken them to the next level. DARPA’s Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance, or EXACTO, program recently completed its first live test, firing a series of .50-caliber shots that use “in-flight guidance” to maneuver to their target.

The military bought six Linux-powered TrackingPoint rifles earlier this year, but DARPA’s version seems to move beyond that. While a TrackingPoint rifle calculates things like gravity and wind and fires when the gun is properly aligned, DARPA’s system maneuvers the bullet after it’s been shot. A guidance system and maneuverable bullet can “compensate for any unexpected factors” such as wind, weather, or a moving target, according to the EXACTO program page. Another difference: the DARPA project kicks up the size, launching and guiding massive 50-caliber rounds. It’s blurry, but the video here gives you some sense of scale.